More Like This

Quick Reference

(1804–81)

A German botanist who, in collaboration with T. Schwann, proposed the cell theory. Schleiden practised law before studying medicine and botany. His studies led him to conclude that all parts of a plant consist of cells or their derivatives, an idea he called ‘phytogenesis’, publishing an account of it in 1838. For some years he was professor of botany at the Universities of Jena and Dorpat but later he worked as a freelance lecturer and writer.